Psychological and psychiatric counseling has traditionally occurred in a practitioner's office. The patient generally schedules an appointment with the therapist and then attends at the therapist's office at the appointed time. The patient and practitioner then engage in the session, which generally involves the patient conveying information to the practitioner about the patients condition, including details of the patient's experiences, feelings, history and other deeply personal information. The practitioner may then counsel the patient depending on the nature of the information revealed to the practitioner by the patient. This counseling may take several forms; however, it often consists of conveying to the patient information which assists the patient in re-interpreting the experiences or feelings which the patient has experienced. The information conveyed by the practitioner may also assist the patient in dealing with stress or psychological pressure or may otherwise assist or comfort the patient.
The effectiveness of the therapy is dependent on many factors, including the amount and quality of the information conveyed by the patient to the practitioner. It is important that the information conveyed to the practitioner be as accurate and complete as possible, in order for the practitioner to accurately assess the patient's condition and assist in treatment. However, patients often have difficulty fully and accurately conveying this information. Much of the information conveyed to the practitioner from the patient is highly confidential and often very difficult for the patient to communicate due to the emotional significance the patient may attaches to the information. In many cases, the information being revealed by the patient is highly prejudicial to the patient, and the patient may be reluctant to reveal it. Therefore, patients often require that the information being conveyed remain secure and confidential. In many cases, despite the legal and other assurances given by the practitioner, the patient may still be reluctant to reveal the information because the patient feels or believes the information is too shameful to be revealed. In such cases, not only is confidentiality and security required, but the patient also feels the need for anonymity. Anonymity is very difficult to achieve in a therapy session because in order to schedule a session, the therapist's office must communicate with the patient and record several details about who the patient is. This is necessary to schedule the session, but also to ensure that the session is paid for. Therefore, patient's who cannot reveal certain information because the information is too personal for them to reveal, either do not seek counseling, or do not fully disclose all that needs to be disclosed during a session. An improved system of counseling is required which permits the patient and practitioner to freely and fully exchange information with one another while maintaining the secrecy and anonymity of the patient.